Behold the $1,555 iPad Case

Carrying an iPad around might make people think you're a trend-chasing spendthrift. So why not buy an $800 or $1500 iPad case from Chanel or Yves Saint Laurent — and prove it?

Harper's Bazaar has a roundup of Apple tablet cases from Oscar de la Renta, Burberry, Louis Vuitton and others (see graphic below). Fortune's Philip Elmer-DeWitt marveled at "the absurdity of spending $1,555 to hold a $499 tablet computer," but the market for overwrought iPad holsters is well proven. The elegant little touchscreen seems to pique the fashion sense of even hard-core computer geeks: Twitter co-founder Ev Williams and Digg co-founder Kevin Rose were among those to sing the praises this summer of the Dodocase, a $60, Moleskine-style iPad case made "from the highest quality bamboo."

From there, it was only a matter of time before the couture houses and other high-end fashion brands stepped up to the plate to try iPad offerings at higher price points. Whether the market for these cases extends far beyond Prada-loving Googler Marissa Mayer remains to be seen, but at the very least these products can expect some editorial support over at iPad-obsessed magazine publisher Condé Nast.